


five times nico di angelo was kind and one time someone was kind back

by addictive_chaos



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canonical Character Death, Cute, Domestic Boyfriends, Family, Family Feels, Fear of Discrimination, Fish out of Water, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, Isolation, M/M, Nico-centric, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Poetic, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson), Sibling Love, linear narrative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 11:50:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14354856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addictive_chaos/pseuds/addictive_chaos
Summary: kind·ness/ˈkīn(d)nəs/the quality of being friendly, generous, and consideratesynonyms: compassion, affection, understanding, sympathy, benevolence





	five times nico di angelo was kind and one time someone was kind back

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy!

* * *

 

**i.**

nico looked at the the kid on the cot next to him. he’d been brought here, to the infirmary, _around the same time bianca died,_ he remembered bitterly.

though, looking at the poor, shuddering teen, nico couldn’t be upset.

 

chris rodriguez – nico read from the boy’s clipboard – son of hermes, 6’2, insanity.

in his sleep, the boy – chris – shivered and muttered something. begging for a woman named _“mary”_. nico wondered if they were family.

 

suddenly, the boy jolted. this made nico jump and reach for his sword.

chris was now sitting bolt upright, screaming out for help, begging for human contact.

nico glanced around the bustling infirmary. it seemed, everyone was too distracted with the mortally injured campers.

 

he got off his cot and sat next to chris. putting a hand on his shoulder. _his skin is warm_ , nico noticed, _or maybe mine is just cold._

 

his eyes locked on nico and he let out a disgruntled sob. eyes wide with panic and fear.

 _“hey, it’s alright,”_ he spoke gently, _“you’re out of there. no monsters will get you here.”_

chris slowly relaxed as nico spoke, but his shoulders were still drawn tight and his eyes wide.

 

the son of hades continued to soothe the son of hermes until he slumped over, looked exhausted and defeated.

nico helped him lie back down. he didn’t protest.

 

a minute later, a stomping daughter of ares marched in and approached chris’s bed. nico scrambled to stand.

 _“what are you doing,”_ clarisse growled – her tone more of a statement than a question. she looked at nico with heavy distrust and distaste.

 _“nothing.”_ nico shrugged it off, shoving his hands into his pockets. he had a growing feeling that he would be treated like this a lot more often in the future.

that realization made his chest tighten. he dropped his eyes and stepped out of the infirmary and into the light.

 

 

 

 **ii.**  

nico stood in front of his father firmly. hands on his hips, he was frustrated beyond belief.

 _“i will not allow a giant to work in the palace,”_ hades said with a tone of finality. he stood at 20 feet tall, probably trying to intimidate his son. but nico wasn’t having it.

 

he knew how percy jackson is. and how thalia grace is. they weren’t gonna be bob’s friend.

yes, nico understood why they made that lie: to survive. but that didn’t make it right for them to leave bob in the dust, like he knew they would.

percy he had even less sympathy for. sure, he could see how thalia would be busy running the hunt with artemis, but percy had no excuse.

and damnit, he wasn’t like them. at least, that’s what he hoped was true.

 

 _“bob just wants to be the janitor,”_ nico protested, _“isn’t that right bob?”_

bob smiled sadly from his place off to the side. _“i just wanted to clean, true. but it’s alright, friend, nico. thank you for trying,”_ bob started to exit the room, feeling hades glare at him.

 _“no. bob stay here. my father will let you stay,”_ nico promised, completely ignoring and hades violently objected in front of them.

 _“i will not have him stay!”_ hades boomed.

 _“give him a week! if he cleans this place to your satisfaction, he can stay. if he doesn’t then you can kick him out,”_ nico offered suddenly.

 

hades narrowed his eyes at his son. pondering this, he shrunk back to a normal human height. _this is a good sign,_ nico hoped to himself.

 _“very well. but you must find him a room. and you must find him his equipment. and you must find him a outfit. he will start tomorrow when the spirits start howling” – so dawn, nico made a mental countdown – “and in one week, i will look over the cleanliness of this palace and its surrounding gardens. if it’s spotless, he can stay. if he fails, i want him out of my sight forever. are we in agreement?”_ hades sat in his throne. the souls of the damned on his robes swirled and wailed.

 _“we are,”_ nico said with pride, turning to bob and showing him to his new room. and it would be up to them to pick it out to. which was good since now, nico could find one that would fit the titan.

 

bob smiled as they walked down the hall. _“thank you, nico,”_ he said.

 _“no problem,”_ nico looked up at him, a smile ghosting his lips, _“it’s what friends do.”_

 

 

 

**iii.**

nico walked through the chilly new york streets. shoving through the crowd, he scowled, putting more candy in his mouth.

leftover lights decorated the front of buildings still, despite the fact it had been two months since christmas and new year’s.

he’d just exited a candy store, after buying himself some candy hearts and some swedish fish. he’d gotten hungry and hadn’t seen any fast food places that he could reach without shoving himself through an unrelenting mob of city-goers.

 

the snow was more like sludge and the left over leaves no one picked up last fall were now visible and decomposing. everything was stained with the brown dirt and dead plants that had been covered by the pure snow. _how poetic,_ he thought to himself, _suffocating the ugly with white, yet, when the white melts, the ugly still remains._

 

as he reached upper manhattan, he vaguely wondered if percy had made up his mind yet.

but nico ~~hoped~~ knew percy would see he was right. maybe he would even actually trust him. that made his heart beat faster.

he scowled deeper, shuddering. he hated how disgusting he was. he didn’t need the mud to cling to him when he already had the metaphorical filth clinging to his soul.

 

in the back of his mind, he wondered, _if i ever find my mama, could i be as honest around her as i was with bianca?_

he frowned and looked at the dirty pavement as he realized, _probably not; no one could ever accept me… bianca was all i had._

that made fresh tears press at his eyelids. he squeezed them shut.

unfortunately, that caused him to run right into someone. they let out a undignified grunt and nico stumbled back. his back collided with a brick wall and he reached back to steady himself. he was still fisting his bag of candy, but he was no longer hungry.

 

he took in his surroundings. he was at the entrance of an alley way and there seemed to be some childish giggles coming from within.

he hesitantly stepped into the alley. his footsteps echoed. the giggling stopped. but now, nico could see the faint glow of a fire behind a garbage bin.

 

he rounded the bin and found himself face to face with some horrified children.

two of them, to be exact. a little boy and little girl. they both had the same straight light brown hair and mocha colored skin and wide blue eyes.

though the girl seemed to be older, her eyes wiser, braver. the boy was clearly still just a child, face too round and eyes too wide.

his heart ached seeing them. they reminded him of bianca and him, despite the fact the sets of siblings looked nothing alike.

 

there was an empty bag of candy in front of them. the fire was dying too, with the not-quite-snow falling still.

 _“are you gonna call the cops on us? since we stole the candy?”_ the boy asked suddenly.

 _“devin!”_ the sister slapped a hand over her brothers mouth.

 _“sorry, belle,”_ the boy mumbled, his voice muffled by her hand. he looked down.

 _“what? no,”_ nico said and made a face, _“but, if you’re hungry, you can have my candy too.”_

 

the siblings exchanged looks and finally, the sister – bella – nodded. the boy – devin – hesitantly stood. nico squatted down and slid it across the ground to his feet.

devin scooped it up and sat next to bella again. still looking apprehensive, he looked up and met nico’s eyes. “thank you,” he finally said.

“you’re welcome.” nico stood and waved, then walking back down the alley. as soon as he was on the other side of the bin, he heard them start to whisper happily to each other.

 

that made his lip twitch upward as he exited the alley and join the masses again as they all walked down the sidewalk. _at least i made someone happy,_ he mused. after that, the voices were quiet for once.

 

 

 

**iv.**

nico had risen hazel levesque from the dead. with thanatos absent, it was surprisingly simple. a fleeting part of him wondered, _why didn’t bianca get a chance like that?_

he pushed that away. he was the older brother now. he had to take care of hazel. _she isn’t a replacement for her; hazel is my sister in her own right,_ he chided himself.

 

alas, after shadow-traveling her out of the underworld, she’d shakily, quietly, told him she didn’t want to do that again. he promised he wouldn’t make her do it again unless it was do or die.

she agreed on that term.

 

the first situation with bringing hazel back arose when they landed in a small california town called gilroy. they actually ended up stopping where route one hundred one and one hundred fifty two met.

they were outside a strip mall and hazel was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the people of all colors and shapes.

he managed to get her across the freeway with lots of trouble. he then showed her into a mcdonalds and they sat at a booth. it was mostly empty, in the lull between lunch rush and rush hour.

 

hazel was clearly on the verge of a panic attack, but it wasn’t anything a strawberry shake and ice cream cone couldn’t fix.

nico just nibbled on some fries.

 

once he deemed her calm, nico explained to her how the future worked. starting with how women now had rights and there wasn’t segregation anymore. he told her about how cars now had radios that worked like phones and still played music. he told her about television and colored movies. he went on talking about it until it was dark outside.

when he finished, hazel was looking at him with wonder and suspicion. _“i don’t believe you,”_ she’d said with a stern look.

 _“it’s true,”_ he insisted, _“go look for a colored womens bathroom. you won’t find one. only a womens and mens.”_

 

so, she stood and he told her where the bathrooms were. she came back a minute later, looking so utterly happy and on the verge of tears, for a moment, nico thought he broke her.

 

 _“thank you,”_ she choked out before pulling him into a tight hug that he couldn’t help but return.

 

 

 

**v.**

nico started up at the ceiling of his makeshift room aboard the argo two.

 _makeshift was a generous word_ , he sighed internally. after refusing to sleep in percy’s room – the mere idea made his heart ache and chest tighten – leo had haphazardly made him a room out of a large closet. the whole left wall was covered in shelves full of equipment.

but his cot was comfy and the blankets warm, so he was thankful.

sometimes, nico wondered if they’d fall on him and kill him. sometimes, he hoped they would.

 

he’d had another nightmare. that he was back in the jar.

that this was all just a vivid dream.

that he was doomed to never see daylight again.

that he was doomed to forever breathe in the toxic air of tartarus that had filled the jar all the same.

that he was doomed to keep swallowing those seeds dry and claw it his neck as they scratched their way down.

that he was doomed to just be boring entertainment for the giant twins.

 

suddenly, the room felt all too small.

nico sat up and shuffled out of bed. stumbling into the hall, he noticed the ship was silent, save the occasional creak or groan from the ship as it flew over europe.

he took a deep breath and considered finding hazel. but decided against it. _my nightmares aren’t worth waking her for, no matter how bad,_ he thought with a wince.

 

he shuffled his way up to the main deck. nico figured he was alone.

he walked forward until he was in the shadow of the mast. then he easily shadow traveled up to the crows’ nest.

 

now, nico was sat up high, as far as he’d ever dared.

he was fully aware, zeus, or jupiter for that matter, could strike the son of hades down, if he so pleased.

he would even be able to justify it with the fact nico was in his realm.

but nothing came.

 

the icy air nipped at his bare skin and melted into his jacket – making everything uncomfortable.

not to mention to bitter wind that felt like he was being pelted with sharp, tiny knives.

his hair was blown back from his face and it stung. but nico didn’t pay it any mind.

 

the times he was able to be here, alone, were the only times he got any peace anymore.

 

after what could very well have been hours, he slid down the mast and moved to go back inside.

but a small figure caught his eye. curled up and asleep against the stair railing opposite where nico had been.

upon closer inspection, he realized it was leo. _he was on night watch,_ he realized, crouching next to him, _at least, he was before he fell asleep._

 

he touched the latino’s shoulder and shook him gently. _“leo, wake up,”_ he called softly.

leo groaned and stirred. blinking his eyes open, he looked around lazily before seeing nico. _“c’mon, let’s get you to bed,”_ nico said, putting an arm on his skinny hip and pulled him to stand.

now, nico was completely supporting leo in his half asleep state. and leo was practically cuddling into nico by then.

vaguely, in the back of his mind, nico wondered if this meant leo didn’t actually think of lowly of him as he suspected.

 

slowly, he got leo to his room. but only after knocking over a few boxes of unused medical supplies and an opened jug of oil.

so by the time the son of hephestus was safely tucked in bed, their feet were covered in oil and nico was more exhausted than when he got up.

 _“night, leo,”_ he whispered as he parted from the boys room. as he tiptoed back to his own room, leo muttered a farewell in spanish.

 

and when he collapsed in his bed again, unaware the sun had started to come up, he didn’t even think of his claustrophobic room or the giants shoving him in a jar or even about the guilt of watching percy and annabeth fall into hell.

no, in that moment, he was content with having helped a friend and slept peacefully for the first time since tartarus.

 

 

* * *

 

 

**i.**

will solace.

will solace was uncharted territory for nico di angelo.

will solace, with his kind gestures and dazzling features, blurred the line between friendship and relationship so much, nico forgot there was a line in the first place.

 

but will solace was, by no means, stupid. maybe oblivious, but still, somehow, always vigilant too.

so when nico insisted, _“i’m okay, i’m fine, and i doesn’t need anyone.”_ will called bullshit.

nico was baffled by that. everyone else had believed him, spare reyna and jason and hazel but that’s _different_. because they’re nico’s _family_.

 

but will’s refusal to accept nico as _‘okay’_ or _‘fine’_ had started a rocky friendship between them before gradually blossoming into a loving relationship.

 

and now, after coming back from dealing with some wannabe-swordsmen, nico was exhausted and just wanted to relax.

then he remembered will was coming over for their date night. he blushed thinking about it. they were gonna cuddle and watch will’s favorite movies.

nico had really been looking forward to relaxing with him.

 

but when he opened his cabin door, he found it as he left it. he frowned; will should’ve been there by now. there was a note on his pillow. he sighed and took off his jacket.

he went over to read the note.

 

 _nico,_  
have to work late at infirmary  
so sorry!  
i will make it up to you next week  
i promise!

_-will_

 

nico crumpled it up and threw it away. _the one thing i wanted is the one thing the fates have taken from me again,_ he thought glumly, changing into some sweatpants and one of will’s sweatshirts.

he got into his bed, cuddling into the too-big sweatshirt. it smelled like will still. and as creepy as it seemed, nico liked the way his boyfriend smelled.

 

the son of hades didn’t remember falling asleep, but definitely remembered having another nightmare and jerking awake. it took him a moment to realize he was hearing screams. and another moment to realize it was coming from him too. he abruptly shut up.

shaking, nico took in his surroundings. _just his cabin,_ he relaxed.

arms tightened around his hips and he tensed again. looking down, he realized it was just will. he blushed and slowly lied back down, in his arms. he was still quivering.

 

 _“you alright?”_ will asked groggily, eyes still closed.

 _“yeah… yeah, i’m alright,”_ nico nodded and put his head to wills chest. his ear was pressed over his heart. will’s heart was steady. nico knew his was not.

 _“you’re shaking,”_ will peaked his eyes open.

 _“i’m alright,”_ nico shook his head.

 

will shifted nico to look into his eyes. _“you’re safe. i’m keeping you safe. nothing’s coming for you,”_ he soothed.

nico’s lip quivered. he bit it to try and hold back the tears. _“thank you,”_ he whispered, wiping his eyes on will’s shirt.

 _“it’s what boyfriends are for,”_ the son of apollo whispered back.

 

slowly, the son of hades started to calm down. he stopped shaking and the tension left his muscles. he relaxed into will completely.

 

 _“i love you,”_ will murmured through the silence.

nico smiled. _“i love you too.”_

 

 

* * *

 

 

**bonus.**

jason blinked at him.

 _“what do you mean you’ve never seen disney.”_ the mere concept baffled the poor blond boy.

nico frowned up at him. _“i don’t know. i mean, they didn’t really show disney in italy and since reaching the present, i’ve been a little caught up in all these wars.”_

 

jason gasped anyway. _“you haven’t had a childhood until you see disney!”_

 _“i didn’t have much of a childhood anyway,”_ nico looked away.

jason put a hand on his shoulder. _“c’mon, nico, just watch the lion king with me,”_ he pretty much begged, making a scene.

he sighed deeply and shifted uncomfortably. _“alright, fine. just shut up,”_ he said sternly.

 

a grin broke out on the son of jupiter’s face. less than a second later, he was dragging the son of hades into cabin 1.

they spent the rest of the day together. catching nico up on the quality family movies of disney.


End file.
